Jernigan Kevin A
Ethnobotany program, University of Alaska, Bethel, Alaska, USA.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2008 May 3;4:12. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-4-12.
The ethnobotanical literature still contains few detailed descriptions of the sensory criteria people use for judging membership in taxonomic categories. Olfactory criteria in particular have been explored very little. This paper will describe the importance of odor for woody plant taxonomy and identification among the Aguaruna Jívaro of the northern Peruvian Amazon, focusing on the Aguaruna category númi (trees excluding palms). Aguaruna informants almost always place trees that they consider to have a similar odor together as kumpají - 'companions,' a metaphor they use to describe trees that they consider to be related.
The research took place in several Aguaruna communities in the upper Marañón region of the Peruvian Amazon. Structured interview data focus on informant criteria for membership in various folk taxa of trees. Informants were also asked to explain what members of each group of related companions had in common. This paper focuses on odor and taste criteria that came to light during these structured interviews. Botanical voucher specimens were collected, wherever possible.
Of the 182 tree folk genera recorded in this study, 51 (28%) were widely considered to possess a distinctive odor. Thirty nine of those (76%) were said to have odors similar to some other tree, while the other 24% had unique odors. Aguaruna informants very rarely described tree odors in non-botanical terms. Taste was used mostly to describe trees with edible fruits. Trees judged to be related were nearly always in the same botanical family.
The results of this study illustrate that odor of bark, sap, flowers, fruit and leaves are important clues that help the Aguaruna to judge the relatedness of trees found in their local environment. In contrast, taste appears to play a more limited role. The results suggest a more general ethnobotanical hypothesis that could be tested in other cultural settings: people tend to consider plants with similar odors to be related, but say that plants with unique odors are unrelated to any other plants.
民族植物学文献中，关于人们用于判断分类类别归属的感官标准的详细描述仍然很少。尤其是嗅觉标准，几乎未被研究过。本文将描述气味在秘鲁北部亚马逊地区阿瓜鲁纳·希瓦罗人对木本植物进行分类和识别中的重要性，重点关注阿瓜鲁纳语中的“númi”（不包括棕榈树的树木）类别。阿瓜鲁纳的信息提供者几乎总是将他们认为气味相似的树木归为“kumpají”——“同伴”，这是他们用来描述他们认为有亲缘关系的树木的一个比喻。
研究在秘鲁亚马逊马拉尼翁河上游地区的几个阿瓜鲁纳社区进行。结构化访谈数据聚焦于信息提供者对各种树木民间分类归属的标准。还要求信息提供者解释每组相关同伴的成员有哪些共同之处。本文重点关注在这些结构化访谈中发现的气味和味道标准。尽可能收集了植物凭证标本。
在本研究记录的182个树木民间属中，51个（28%）被广泛认为具有独特气味。其中39个（76%）据说气味与其他一些树木相似，而另外24%有独特气味。阿瓜鲁纳的信息提供者很少用非植物学术语描述树木气味。味道主要用于描述有可食用果实的树木。被判定有亲缘关系的树木几乎总是属于同一植物科。
本研究结果表明，树皮、树液、花朵、果实和树叶的气味是帮助阿瓜鲁纳人判断当地环境中树木亲缘关系的重要线索。相比之下，味道似乎发挥的作用更有限。研究结果提出了一个更普遍的民族植物学假设，可在其他文化背景下进行检验：人们倾向于认为气味相似的植物有亲缘关系，但表示有独特气味的植物与其他任何植物都没有亲缘关系。
